Worksheet – Critical Review of an Academic Journal

Student Name: Student Number:

Assessment 3 Written Critical Analysis requires students to critically review two journal articles and then compare and contrast the journal articles. A critical analysis is sometimes called an annotated bibliography when more than on source is critically analysed.

A written critical analysis of a journal article includes the full reference of the journal article and an accompanying discussion about the article’s value and contribution to the understanding of a topic. For the purpose of Assessment 2 the sources to be critically analysed will be journal articles from peer-reviewed academic journals. The accompanying discussion will include a summary of the purpose and main argument of the journal article as well as evaluation of the journal article.

To help students prepare the elements of the critical analysis, the following worksheet has been developed. A critical analysis of a journal article has 5 elements. These elements are outlined in the table below, please complete the each section and bring to class to discuss with your peers and print a paper copy to hand in to your lecturer at the end of the tutorial.

Element Completed for selected article 1 Completed for selected article 2
1 The citation information should be in the same format as it would be in the reference list. Use Harvard Referencing Style – leave a line BELOW the citation

2 What is the journal article’s author viewpoint?
Write a short statement of the author’s viewpoint.

3 What is the article about?
Write a short summary of the theory, research findings and/or argument.

4 What are the strengths and limitations of this journal article?
Write a comment on the usefulness and/or limitations of the text for your topic

5 What is the value or contribution of this journal article on the topic being researched?
Write an evaluative comment on the work, taking into account how this work will fit into your research on your topic.

Comparing and contrasting two journal articles in an annotated bibliography

Once you have completed the commentary and evaluation of each of the two articles in of your Written Critical analysis you are required to compare and contrast the different views presented by each author on your selected topic. To do this you need to consider and answer the following questions:

Questions to consider Complete for your selected articles
1 What are the similarities between the arguments presented by each author about the topic?
2 What are the differences between the arguments presented by each author about the topic?
3 How do the conclusions drawn by each author differ?
4 Which author provides the stronger or more robust argument and why?
5 Having compared and contrasted the two journal articles, what questions do you now have about the topic? What else do you want to know about the topic?
Adapted from: Teaching and Learning Support (TaLS) – Fact Sheets Writing an Annotated Bibliography n.d. Viewed 6 April 2016 https://www.une.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/11132/WE_Writing-an-annotated-bibliography.pdf